I've decided to post chapter 2 after seeing the reviews. So I will respond here:
To the guest, I've already responded to your review on your review while I was moderating it. This won't be short (the idea I have in mind is not meant to be short) and this won't just be Dan x Runo. There will be some, however. But I have many other pairings planned with how many characters I plan on bringing back (hey remember Chan Lee and Julio? Let's just say they may play a part in this story.)
To Troth, I did recognize that all the Japanese words would be a problem, especially since they seem to come out of nowhere. I really wish I could have avoided that, but the sport Runo plays helps a lot in future chapters, so describing every little thing about it seemed necessary (it was either that, or I felt it would be hard to describe it in my own words to make it simpler.) I apologize to all readers for that, and I promise that there will be no more of that (well, there may considering what I plan to bring into this story, but I haven't gotten that far enough to know for certain that there will be another surge of random Japanese words.) But I will try hard to avoid doing that in the future. So far, the chapters I've written don't have that much Japanese in it besides the suffixes, and this chapter only has a little bit of Japanese thrown in (but this is only because it seemed necessary.)
In the mean time, the guest also told me not to include the suffixes, and I'm assuming it's because you don't know what they mean, so I will explain the common suffixes that will be used currently.
-Chan : It's a cutesy suffix you use for a very cute person and it's mainly used for girls. If one were to use it on a boy, it means they're really feminine (in the eyes of the person using it) or cute in a girly way.
-Kun : It's a masculine suffix mainly used for boys. If you use it on a girl, that means you see that girl as a rough and boyish girl.
- San : It's a form of respect. You can compare it to the respect you give someone if you call them "Mr." or "Ms."
- Sama : Highest form of respect. It's like something you would call your idol, or hero, or someone with a lot of power and influence over you.
Oh yes, before I forget: This story is rated T for a reason. There's a lot of language in here not for kids. I doubt a kid would be reading this, but just a warning for people uncomfortable with curses/cursing in general.
"As usual, as usual, I begin to question these days being spun. The coming of the end of the world is theorized by practical principals. I exist in the unchanging present." -Plastic Tree, "Setsugekka"
Chapter 2
Dan walked home after kendo practice, bored with not much to think of. His coach had made him do 1,000 strikes with his shinai against all of the targets. It was a tiring feat to accomplish, but he did it with some ease. He had been adamantly practicing since he was young, so even making him do 10,000 strikes against all the targets wouldn't tire him as much as it would any other person.
Kendo was his life, sakka was his soul. It was an on and off thing with those two sports. Dan had great skill in both, when he needed them. It was almost like he had been training his entire life. He was a 9th dan in kendo and midfielder in sakka. Playing these two sports gave him so much of a thrill, and it made him especially happy. He loved the feeling of being in control, of switching up his styles and being that one unpredictable person.
"Daniel, you need to stop swinging so wildly," is what his coaches would say when he first began to learn Kendo.
"It's my own special style!" he would retort stubbornly.
While he was thinking about the sports, he didn't notice someone approach him.
"Hey there~." Dan turned to look at a girl-ugh, was she a ganguro? Wasn't that out of style?-with tan skin and bleached white hair. She had blue eyes and wore a way too short skirt and a pink blouse. "Want to join me and my friend for some karaoke?" Dan looked around, not noticing her "friend".
"Um, no thanks-"
"Ami, stop fooling around or we'll be-" Another girl ran over to Dan and the ganguro, but she faltered as she saw Dan. "-late." This girl wasn't a ganguro. No. She was 100% natural. Long silver hair that looked like silk, and big grey eyes on an incredibly beautiful face. Her skin was a natural tan.
"Dan?"
"Julie?" The name left his mouth unconsciously. Woah. She had changed a lot in the last few years. Like her breasts. They had gotten bigger-not that Dan was noticing or anything, but it was kind of hard to miss them. The ganguro looked between the two, who stared at each other.
"Do you two know each other?" She asked. And Julie nodded.
"Yeah." She replied. She then smiled at Dan. "It's nice to see you again." Dan nodded.
"Yeah." He stared at the two girls awkwardly. "Uh, I just left kendo so I need to go home."
"Right. Go ahead. I'll see you later, Dan." Julie said, although he could see in her eyes that she didn't want to say goodbye. He hesitantly walked away from her, not bothering to look back.
It was kind of odd that he ran into Runo and Julie on the same day as his dream. He hadn't seen Julie in about 3 or 4 years, and even though he sits behind Runo in class, he hasn't spoken to her since the beginning of the school year. And even then, it was an exclamation of "What are you doing here?!" instead of an actual conversation. So for him to talk to them both on the same day...it was weird. In his gut he got the feeling that things were going to get weirder.
He made it home just before nineteen hundred. His mom was in the living room doing yoga, and his dad was eating some pudding in the kitchen.
"I'm home." He called as he went straight to his room, waving slightly at his parents.
"Welcome back." Miyako called as she did some weird yoga motion on the floor of the living room. When he reached his room, Dan took off his gakuran and threw his bag on his chair by his desk before he went to his closet to look for a t-shirt and some pants to throw on. However, he stopped what he was doing and went back to his desk, which he passed on his way to his closet. On the desk was a shiny red marble, decorated with gold in some places. Dan leaned over and picked it up, inspecting it.
"Mom must have found it somewhere and thought it was mines." He muttered to himself. He knew the marble wasn't his, because he didn't recognize it. Besides, he stopped playing with marbles when he was 8. He tapped it, trying to see what it was made of. It felt hard and cold, like metal.
"Urg..." that was a groan. Dan looked around, spooked because it wasn't his groan. And if it wasn't his, whose was it?
"Who's there?!" He demanded. No response. "I'm a 9th dan in Kendo! Don't play with me." Still no response. After several minutes of silence, Dan shook it off as his mind playing tricks on him. He focused his attention back on the marble, before tossing it to the side.
"Ow!" It was the same voice that groaned. Dan looked at the direction it came in: the direction he threw the marble. It had landed on the floor underneath his desk. No one was there. Dan's eyes widened and he bent down slowly reached for the marble. He carefully handled it as if it were a bomb, and brought it up to his face.
"...Did you speak?" He questioned. No response. He felt silly asking a marble that, but there was most definitely a-
"...Forgive me, heika." The marble squirmed in Dan's hand. "I am still trying to get used to this form." The marble opened, making out the form of a head, wings, and little claw feet. The voice was gravelly and orotund.
"...What." Dan sat back on his bed, staring at the marble in surprise. "Is this a prank?" He asked aloud, looking around for the source of the voice.
"Danma, do you not recognize me? I am Drago." The marble spoke.
It took a while for the words to process in his mind.
"You have got to be fucking kidding me." Really? Drago? Now his mind really was playing with him today. Maybe this was some form of post traumatic stress disorder or something. "Drago was my imaginary friend when I was five. He's fictional. He isn't real."
"But I am real. You summoned me earlier." The marble spoke. Dan blinked.
"I what?"
"I believe the reason for me not appearing in my true form is because you only said half of the summoning chant." The marble explained. Dan remembered how earlier he spoke Drago's name. That was the summoning chant?!
"...I need to take a shower." Dan groaned. It was unreal. His imaginary friend from years ago was real and alive now. And instead of the ultra cool dragon he used to be, he was a damn marble.
"Very well then. I will guard you." Drago replied, as if a marble could really protect a 65 kg boy.
"...Yeah you do that." Dan grabbed some clothes and went to the bathroom. He took a 30 minute shower, hoping that would wake him from his delusions.
When he came back to his room, the marble was on his desk, waiting.
"I hope your shower was satisfactory-"
"Dammit!" Dan was wide awake now. He now was positive that his imaginary friend was real and a goddamn marble. "You know what?" Dan grabbed his laptop and opened it. After logging in, he opened his video messaging program. "I need a second opinion."
Clicking on the name 'Choji Marakura', the call rang for a few moments. Finally the other person answered. "Hey Dan." Marucho greeted with a smile. Marucho was the only person Dan knew from years before that he kept in contact with. From what Dan could tell, he had just gotten out of the shower. He had a towel slung around his shoulder which he began to use to dry his messy blond hair.
"Maru-chan! Dude, I need your help." Dan exclaimed. "Remember that game we all used to play when we were younger?" Marucho nodded.
"Yeah. Vestroia. I still have the battle logs, I think." Marucho replied. Dan held up the marble.
"Well today I had a dream about one of those times we played. I woke up thinking about my beast-"
"Drago." Marucho remembered, an impressive feat for someone who was so young at the time.
"Drago." Dan confirmed. "Anyway, so I come home right? And this marble is just sitting there on my desk. I pick it up and it talks. The damn thing talks. And it says it's Drago, Marucho. Personally I think I'm going crazy but I need a second opinion." Marucho stared at Dan through the camera for a second.
"I think you're crazy."
"Thank kami." Dan sighed.
"What are you thanking kami for?" The marble spoke, opening itself to reveal the outline of a head with a golden horn on it and little wings. There were even tiny little feet. Marucho and Dan stared at it in disbelief.
"I didn't do that!" Dan exclaimed, the marble clearly having been a ball moments before.
"Well I guess you broke reality." Marucho said after a moment.
"But how? And why me?" Dan groaned. "I really could have gone without this."
"I don't know Dan," Marucho said, "this seems really cool to me. I mean, if what you thought up was able to come to life, imagine what other things we thought were fake are real." Marucho was a dreamer. Dan knew that seeing Drago become alive would have Marucho wonder if his own beast Preyas were real.
"Look Marucho-" Marucho stretched.
"Hold on. I'll go get dressed and look through my logs and see if there's anything talking about the beasts coming into reality." Marucho said. His screen blacked out afterwards, replaced by a picture that said 'Sound Only'.
"...Well then, Drago." Dan couldn't help but smile. "I guess it's nice to have you again."
"I can say the same. You went so many years without summoning me." Drago said. "You've grown so much." Dan rubbed the back of his head.
"Eh heh..." Marucho popped up on the screen again, this time dressed. He was wearing pajamas, and his hair was sticking to his forehead, not yet dry. He had several boxes next to him.
"I was only able to find a few logs, but I'm sure they have a lot of explanations." The 15 year old explained.
"A few? That looks like more than a few." Dan pointed out. Marucho waved him off.
"Please. Remember how long we played Vestroia? I only began keeping track of everything near the end." The blond began to dig through the boxes. Dan recalled the logs being used to keep track of important conversations and battles, along with treaties and wars. Marucho pulled out a notebook.
"This one says 'March 2006'." Marucho said. "Want me to read it?" Dan nodded.
"If it can give us some answers." Marucho cleared his throat and turned to a random page. However, after skimming through, he didn't read.
"Dan, I don't think we should read this over camera." He said. "Call it a feeling, but maybe we should meet up tomorrow. There's no school." Dan nodded.
"Alright then. If you say so."
"Come to my house around twelve noon, okay?" Dan nodded once more and the date was set.
Dan closed the computer and turned to Drago. "Well I guess we have some catching up to do."